Canada's investment regulator bans sports event contracts, bars prediction markets tied to gambling
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) tightened rules on prediction markets and banned sports event contracts. CIRO issued new definitions for event contracts and prediction markets. The regulator permits only event contracts directly related to long-term finance. DraftKings' status as a licensed iGaming operator in Ontario and Alberta complicates its position under the new framework. The rules contrast with the US, where the Commodity Futures Trading Commission pathway allows event-contract platforms to operate.
The CIRO ban removes Canada as a growth market for every US platform that was eyeing cross-border expansion. DraftKings already holds Ontario and Alberta iGaming licenses, so its dual identity as regulated sportsbook and would-be prediction market operator now works against it. Kalshi, Polymarket, and Underdog have no CIRO-registered pathway at all.
Each state victory south of the border becomes template law Canadian regulators can cite, and the NFL's amicus push for state gambling framing already resonates in Ottawa's policy circles. Platforms must now add Canadian legal exclusion to their geofence maps or redesign products to fit CIRO's narrow finance-only definition. The first operator that tries to thread this needle and fails sets the compliance cost every rival must budget for.